Kentucky Speedway
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| Location | Sparta, Kentucky |
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| Track length | 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) |
| Track shape | Tri-Oval |
| Banking | Turns - 14° Tri-Oval - 8-10° Straight - 4° |
| Major events | NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Indy Racing League |
| Capacity | 66,000 (Stands) |
| Address | 5120 Sparta Pike, Sparta, KY 41086 |
| Owner | |
Kentucky Speedway is a 1.5 mile motor speedway located in north-central Kentucky, near the community of Sparta, Kentucky; approximately halfway between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, and is additionally 70 miles from another fairly sizable market, Lexington, Kentucky. The track was designed to host a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race and has hosted NASCAR Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series races, as well as IRL races. However, NASCAR officials have refused any discussion of a NEXTEL Cup race being moved there.
In July 2005, Kentucky Speedway filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation, (ISC) claiming that they violated federal antitrust laws by not allowing tracks to bid for NASCAR races, provided they meet the necessary requirements. This lawsuit was filed a year after Francis Ferko, a Speedway Motorsports shareholder, successfully sued NASCAR and ISC, forcing NASCAR to eliminate the prestigious Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina, in favor of a second race at Texas Motor Speedway, as demanded by the terms of the lawsuit. Track officials used the Ferko case as precedent for the lawsuit.
NASCAR asked that the suit be dismissed or moved to Florida, home of NASCAR headquarters, but instead the Federal Court decided the case should proceed in Kentucky courts. The discovery process for documents and information in the case ends in February of 2007, then the next phase of the lawsuit will commence.
Meanwhile, the track has become one of the top tracks for testing NEXTEL Cup cars, because of NASCAR's testing restrictions implemented in 2005. As a result of the new testing restrictions, teams may only test at NASCAR-authorized testing sessions at seven specific tracks on the NEXTEL Cup circuit. As Kentucky is not a NEXTEL Cup venue, private testing of such cars is permitted with no restrictions, and spectators are allowed to view testing sessions from outside of turn three.
In response to the Kentucky Speedway's lawsuit, NASCAR fans and union members of UNITE HERE and Teamsters gathered over 40,000 signitures asking NASCAR to sever ties with the Kentucky Speedway while the lawsuit proceeds. The petition raises concerns that if the lawsuit is successful, then the competitive bidding process it advocates could cause ticket prices to rise and smaller tracks could lose their races.
There has also been talk that Kentucky Speedway owners might purchase Pocono Raceway and move one of its Nextel Cup races to Kentucky. However, the Mattioli family, which owns both Pocono Raceway and South Boston Speedway, and manages the Music City Motorplex, has so far shown no interest in selling that superspeedway.
Both of Kentucky's major 300-mile races (NBS, IRL) are sponsored by Meijer.
[edit] Current Races
- NASCAR Busch Series - Meijer 300 presented by Oreo
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers
- Indy Racing League - Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret
- ARCA RE/MAX Series - Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati 150
- ARCA RE/MAX Series - WLWT Channel 5-150
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Kentucky Speedway Official Site
- Kentucky Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or MapQuest
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Tracks of the Indy Racing League |
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| Ovals Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chicagoland • Homestead • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Motegi • Nashville • Richmond • Texas Road/Street Courses Former Tracks |
| Current NASCAR Busch Series racetracks |
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| Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Martinsville (1982–1994, 2006), Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal (2007), Nashville, Phoenix, Richmond, Sparta, Kentucky, Talladega, Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks |
|---|
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Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky |
| Tracks of the USAC Championship Series |
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| Former Tracks (1956-1981) Arizona Fairgrounds • Atlanta • Darlington • Dayton • Daytona • Detroit • Dover • DuQuion • Hanford • Indianapolis • Lakewood • Langhorne • Michigan • Milwaukee • Nazareth • Ontario • Phoenix • Pocono • Sacramento • Sedalia • Springfield • Syracuse • Texas World • Trenton • Williams Grove Road Courses International |
| Tracks of ARCA |
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| Berlin • Chicagoland • Daytona • DuQuoin • Gateway • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Nashville • Pocono • Salem • Talladega • Toledo • USA Int'l • Winchester |
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